Building Spaulders

An exercise in basic hammerwork, finishing, and assembly

by Eric Slyter

Page 6 of 8

Fitting the Lames, Continued

Figure 25 shows the cop and un-fit lames laid out. You can see that the lames are curled too round to fit the cop.

Figure 25

The "arms" of the flat-topped lame need to be pulled outwards as seen in Figure 26. It should fit within the cop closely, with the holes overlapped by the cop. I will sometimes fine-tune the "arms" of the lames using a light plastic hammer to flatten the curvature, but these shaping processes must be done carefully or they will wind up looking lumpy and uneven.

Figure 26

Each of the three successive lames then needs to be fit in this same manner. Constantly examine your work to ensure that the fit is close and the lames symmetrical. Figure 27 shows the cop and lames fit and ready to finish.

Figure 27

At this point, it is important to label the inside of both the right and left cops and lames as in Figure 28, to avoid confusion later.

Figure 28

Finishing the Pieces

Now we are back to our buffer with the sanding wheel attachment, and the cop will be sanded first. Put on a fresh 80 or 100 grit disc, and as when sanding previously wear your dust mask and face shield at the very least (I prefer hearing protection and gloves also). I usually do one half and then flip it around and do the other. The goal is to completely sand away all the hammering marks. Work the cop back and forth across the sanding disc with even pressure as seen in Figure 28. Practice will reveal the right amount of pressure. Take care to not snag the edges against the disc. If that happens, the edge of the steel will make short work of the disc, possibly tearing it completely and sending pieces everywhere- it may also tear the workpiece from your hands and damage it (and anything it hits).

Note: grinders and related motorized tools are extremely dangerous. They are basically designed to destroy anything that touches them, and they don't care if that is steel or your clothing, hair or skin. Treat them with profound respect and caution or you will learn the hard way.

Figure 29

I usually sand the cop twice, inspecting the work after the first sanding. Take note of problem areas after the first sanding which may reveal low spots in your hammering- go back and bouge these back in. Sanding the rest of the cop down to meet the low spots is generally a bad habit to get into, as it thins the steel (although medievally they seemed to do a great deal of grinding and sanding to rather roughly formed pieces, if their interiors are any indication). It takes practice to get good at sanding. The desired effect is a smooth, consistent non-streaky grain as pictured in Figure 29. It is necessary to go back and carefully sand the edges, inside and out, as by this point the edges will have become sharp. It is easier to do this by hand, though possible with the sanding disc after you've had enough practice at it.

Figure 30